THE CATEGORY: BEFORE&AFTER PANDEMIC

In Romania, cola dominates the beverages category: 50% MS. Coca-Cola is the leader while Pepsi is the second-best, yet there's space for other players: private-label and the newly launched Pop Cola, spring 2020. PepsiTasteChallenge is the way to fight Coca-Cola and reinforce the TASTE attribute. The campaign deployment was pure BTL, so it proved to be an impossible plan for the summer of 2020.

SUMMER HAS 3 MAIN BUSINESS DRIVERS, ALL COVID-ATTACKED.

1. HoReCa with the value-selling Pepsi Glass Bottles - 2020 turned the main business opportunity into an uncertain territory - limited space available, harsher restrictions changing every day and cautious consumers avoiding going out. HoReCa dropped 70% compared to the previous year (Study HORA, August 2020).

2. The On-The-Go occasion was lost too, as the CAN started to be perceived unsafe (internal data).

3. The hedonic consumption became a no-go - consumers became more frugal and brands price-driven and hard-selling (volume) than brand-building. Global data shows: soft-drinks dropped 10% post-outbreak (WARC).

With PET being the safe bet and CAN an impossible mission, Pepsi's glass bottles (vintage and new, both with the original Pepsi taste) became the main business drivers as they’re the SKUs that bring the most value.

LOCAL POSITIONING

Locally, Pepsi's aim is about bridging generations by nurturing their free spirit. This purpose is supported by Pepsi's Romanian legacy. Since 1966, the brand got to know everything about how Romanians party and have fun.

CREATIVE CHALLENGE: Generate a cultural momentum that compensates HoReCa's downfall and creates the need for in-home glass bottle consumption.

SOLUTION: Switch the free-spirited generations gloomy-vibes to a "glass-full mindset" by offering them nostalgia entertainment with a brand-new touch.

IDEA

PEPSI RETRO STUDIO starring as THE NEW MTV - THE CROSS-GENERATIONAL SPIRIT-LIFTER SERVING TV-LIKE CONTENT PLEASING ALL-TIME TASTES

EXECUTION

When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Pepsi – the generations liaison – continued advertising, providing comfort & entertainment to the generations stacked together in the pandemic and to a handful of musicians who got back their raison d’etre.

Pepsi Retro Studio was deployed across brands' owned media channels to serve The New MTV concept.

Pepsi’s bravest flex was to tap into all the things MTV would do: music, performances, TV shows, fashion and crazy challenges. All these were translated across the brands’ digital channels.

Pepsi challenged the music industry to launch “the new-old songs”, providing entertainment and fun.

These new cultural products lived on Youtube, Facebook. They were appropriated by fans on TikTok, streamed on Spotify and known by all through Virgin Radio Shows live-streamed on YouTube too. By re-launching the new-old-songs, Pepsi provided the right content for the gloomy context: „indoor-party material”.

Pepsi Retro Studio also supported the comedians by provoking them to infuse nostalgia humor on its channel and the urban culture. Tapping into cultural production: the brand launched its streetwear merch with a local urban shop. And to serve the nostalgia, the beloved board game of yesterday-generation was relaunched under the Pepsi Vintage Edition.